Contents

Design

Despite the Grand Theft Auto games being set in large, bustling urban environments with public transport infrastructure, the Bus is one of the series' rarest vehicles. The Bus rarely spawns on the street and is usually very difficult to find by other means too.

GTA 1 — GTA 2

In GTA 1, the Bus is based on a typical school bus and has no special features. There are three versions; in Liberty City it is a school bus, in San Andreas it appears to be a church bus, and in Vice City it appears to be either a high school bus or a bus for some kind of sports team; the latter two are not spawned in traffic.

In GTA 2, the Bus resembles an "old look"-style transit bus and can be found picking up/dropping off passengers at various bus stops within each of the three districts. The Bus only drives on the outer lane of the 'main' roads. Even if the player steals the bus, passengers will still enter/exit if the player stops at a bus stop.

GTA III — GTA Liberty City Stories

In GTA III, GTA Vice City, and GTA Liberty City Stories the Bus retains the "school bus" design featured in GTA 1, and comes in several colors. The design is very generic and takes styling from a wide range of decades, mostly from the '50s. The hood's shape resembles an 1980s International Harvester S-Series; its slanted side windows may be inspired by the old GM New Look Bus or Flxible New Look bus; the rear is rounded similar to most '40s and '50s bus designs. The buses in GTA III, GTA Vice City and GTA Liberty City Stories all look similar to each other in appearance while the bus in GTA San Andreas resembles a Coach more than a Bus.

In GTA San Andreas the bus takes on a different appearance, resembling an ordinary city bus. Like the Coach, it can carry the driver and seven passengers. It appears to be based on an MCI MC-8 or MC-9.

GTA IV — GTA V

In GTA IV, the Brute Bus resembles an Orion V CNG (with an evenly angled windshield). Its slanted side windows resemble those of the old GM New Look Bus or the Flxible New Look bus, although they are more modern in style. When entering the Bus, walking and seating animations are actually shown, unlike in previous games, since the windows are now transparent. The Bus only allows four passengers (in addition to the driver) to travel in the vehicle, however this is still more than any other vehicle available to the player. The buses, which fall under the management of Liberty City Transport Authority (LTA), are further stamped with "The Fox" labels, in line with the LTA's association of the Liberty City's tramway with another animal ("The Pigeon").

The Bus remains a rare sight in the city. Despite the presence of several bus stops around the city, the Bus is commonly seen only on the roads near Francis International Airport, and parked in Star Junction. The Bus will sometimes appear during GTA IV's mission chase sequences as part of set pieces, acting as an obstacle to increase the difficulty of the mission (for example, Brucie's mission Search and Delete).

The Bus finds its own perfect purpose during GTA Races set in Star Junction. The Bus can easily block off a path while a novice picks off cars, driver by driver, resulting in everyone switching to Faggios, which provide no cover whatsoever for the rider and cannot move buses at all, but are nimble enough to move around buses.

The Bus is one of the only vehicles in the game that can be stolen without triggering a wanted level, in part because they are always unlocked.

The Bus in GTA V has undergone a minor cosmetic redesign from its GTA IV counterpart (for example, the shape of the side windows and the headlights have been changed). Notably, it appears to be available in either a red or orange paintjob, matching Los Angeles Metro's Rapid and Local bus services respectively.

Performance

GTA III — GTA Liberty City Stories

The Bus' handling is slow and cumbersome, as one would expect, and the vehicle, although fairly tough, cannot readily knock other vehicles aside in the manner of the Fire Truck, Barracks OL, or the Flatbed. The Bus in GTA San Andreas is an exception because the bus's handling is better than similar vehicles of it's size, most probably due to it's lighter weight.

It is also more vulnerable to bullet damage than most vehicles of its size. Like the coach, it can carry up to a maximum of 7 passengers in GTA San Andreas.

GTA IV — GTA Chinatown Wars

For GTA IV, handling is below average, with the bus easily understeering around corners. Top speed is however somewhat excellent thanks in part to it's 5-litre engine, but is let down by poor acceleration which is one of the worst in the game. The bus has a soft suspension tune making the bus somewhat comfortable, especially at low speeds. The bus is let down again by its poor brakes which tend to lock up easily, and when they do, stopping distance is increased, giving the bus a poor stopping distance.

Due to its rear-engined configuration, the Bus can survive seemingly endless head-on crashes with cars, trucks, and buildings alike. This makes it the perfect vehicle for ramming cars out of one's path. Like previous renditions of the Bus, however, it is particularly vulnerable to gunfire.

Performance of the Bus in GTA Chinatown Wars is no different, with the bus capable of only low top speeds, average acceleration, very wide turning radius' and poor brakes, making the bus impractical for demanding uses.